Centrifugal speed governor



E.l LECOULTRE GENTRIFUGAL SPEED GOVERNOR sept. 1o, 1940.

2 sheetssheet 1 Filed latch 18, 1940 l l l '4 sept. 1o, 1940.

E. LECQULTRE CENTRIFUGAL SPEED GOVERNOR Filed latch 18, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES C-ENTRIFUGAL SPEEDI GOVERNOR Edgard Lecoultre, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, as-

signor to Hermann Thoreno Societe Anonyme, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, a corporation of Switzerland Application March 18, 1940, Serial No. 324,716 In Switzerland March 21, 1939 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a centrifugal speed governor used particularly on motors of talking machines, gramophones, and other machines of such class.

The object of the invention is to greatly simplify and cheapen the construction of the mentioned governor as well as to secure greater reliability of performance and efficiency in use.

With this object in view, the invention consists in the provision of at least two crooked levers mounted on `a socket rigid with the governor shaft, said levers being turnable about an axis perpendicular to said shaft, and being subjected to the action of an elastice device which at rest maintains them in a position wherein one of their arms is at least approximately parallel to the axis of said shaft and the other transverse to the latter, whereby the first arm carries a mass while the extremities of the other arms carry a tention disk adapted to cooperate with a xed part, all that to bring the said disk nearer to the said fixed part when the masses move away from said shaft under the influence of centrifugal force.

The invention will be readily understood from the detailed description which follows, when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, one embodiment thereof and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, Figure 2 is a lateral elevation and Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section along the line 3 3 of Figure 2. The Figures 4 and 5 represent a fragmentary plan view from the top and a fragmentary underside View, respectively.

The Figures 6 and 7 show a front view and a lateral View, respectively, of a detail, while Figures 8 and 9 represent similar views of another detail.

The embodiment represented comprises a shaft I the lower part of which presents a helicoidal screw 2 adapted to be acted upon by a tangential wheel mounted on the shaft of a motor not represented. The shaft I carries a metal socket 3 of rectangular section xed by a press screw 4. The socket 3 carries at the upper part of its small faces, transversely to the latter two metal links and 6 fixed by screws 'I and 8, respectively; the lower part of said links is bent up at a right angle so as to penetrate into grooves 9 and It, respectively, of the socket, and it presents further hooks I I, and I2, respectively. Between the links 5 and 6 are mounted two metal rods I3 and I 4 disposed perpendicularly to the axis of the shaft I (see Figures 8 and 9).

On the rods I3 and I4 are rotatably mounted crooked metal levers I5 and I6, respectively, which are disposed symmetrically as to the axis of the shaft I; each one of said levers is constituted by a metal sheet; for instance an iron plate 6U bent up at a right angle to form two arms Il, I8

(Cl. 18S-187) parallel to the axis of the shaft I, while the arms I Il and I9 extend transversely to the latter. The

arm I1 presents on both sides and near the vertex of the right angle formed by the lever, ears 2l and 22 adapted to be used for turning the lever on the rod I3; said ears present at their upper part a nose 23 and 24, respectively. Finally, the end of the arm is bent up at a right angle.

The arm I3 presents near the centre of its length lateral ears 25 and 26 bentat a right angle towards the exterior; between said ears is disposed a metal mass 21,'for instance a lead mass secured to the ears 25 and 26 by means of pins 28 and 29.

The whole is disposed in such a manner that the distance between the centre of gravity of the mass 2l and the rod I3 is approximately equal to the length of the arm I'I.

The lever I6 is exactly the same as the lever I5; it is rotatably mounted on the rod I4 and carries a mass 30.k

A leaf spring 3| xed at one of its extremities between the mass 2l and the arm I8 passes through an aperture of said arm so as to bear upon the upper part of the socket 3. A leaf spring 32 is similarly disposed between the mass 30 and the arm of the lever I6. The said springs constantly tend to return the masses to the shaft I.

On the bent-up ends Il and I9 of the arms Il and I9 respectively rests a tension disk formed of a metal ring 34 disposed concentrically to the shaft I and having its plane surface -per- -pendicular to the axis of said shaft; on the upper surfaces of said ring is fixed for instance a ring 35 of plastic material such as felt by means of an adhesive substance. 'I'he portions by means of which the ring 34 bears on the arms Il and I9 present ears 35 and 31 bent downwards at right angles and provided on their sides with rims so as to engage the bent-up ends of the arms Il and I9; the ring 34 is thus rigid with the levers I5 and I6 and partakes of their rotation while being displaceable on the latter parallel to the axis of the shaft I. The ring 34 presents further at its lower face two hooks 38 and 39 diametrically opposite each other and catching coil springs 4I) and 4I, respectively, which are fixed on the other side to the hooks II and I2 of the linm 5 and 6, respectively. Said springs constantly tend to move the ring 34 back upony the ends of the levers II and I9.

Parallel to the ring 34 and spaced therefrom is disposed a fixed metal ring 42 formed integral with a squared piece 43 mounted on a frame 44 in such a way as to be slidable on said frame parallel to the axis of the shaft I.

The governor operates in the following way:

fis

The shaft I is set in rotation by the motor of the talking machine and assumes a speed which is of constant ratio in regard to the speed of the sound reproducing organ. As soon as the speed of the shaft l attains a sufficient value, the centrifugal force acts upon the masses 27 and 30 to remove them from the shaft l against the springs 3i and 32. The motion of the masses 2'? and 38 causes the levers I5 and l to turn on the rods I3 and I4, and the arms il and IS of said levers displace the ring 34 parallel to itself against the springs lill and l to bring said ring nearer to the ring d2 until the strain of the springs attains a value suflioient to compensate for the action of centrifugal force. If the speed is increased, the felt ring 35 comes into contact with the metal ring 4t2 and the friction resulting therefrom pro` vokes a speed reduction; upon decrease of speed, the masses 2l and 3@ are drawn back to the shaft by the springs, and the ring is moved away from the ring 432 whereby the friction is dimim ished and the speed again increased. The speed is thus regulated to an approximately constant value depending upon the strain of the leaf springs 3l and 32 and the distance between the rings 35 and d2. The strain of the springs is fixed once-occurring, and the regulated speed may be adjusted by changing the distance between the two rings, for instance by displacing the member d3 on the frame id by means of a cam device of the known type. s

The parts are adjusted in such a way as to remove the masses as soon as the speed of the shaft I attains a determined maximum value, and this action is so regulated that the noses, 23 and 2d of the levers I5 and It come into contact with the socket il and prevent the masses from further removal in order to obviate the leaf springs from being subjected to great strain- I claim:

1. In a speed governor for motors of talking and like machines, the combination with driving shaft, of a socket rigid with said shaft, at least two crooked levers rotatably mounted on said socket so as to turn about an axis perpendicular to said shaft and having each two arms, an elastic device acting upon said levers to maintain one arm thereof approximately parallel to the axis of the shaft and the other transverse to said shaft when the governor is at rest, a. mass carried by the first`of, said arms and adapted to be laterally displaced under the iniiuence of centrifugal force, a tension disk carried by the extremities of the others of said arms and adapted to be axially raised by said levers upon displacement of the mass, and a fixed part cooperating with said tension disk for regulating the speed to an approximately constant value.

2. In a speed governor for motors of talking and like machines, the combination with` a driving shaft, of a socket rigid with saidshaft, at least two crooked levers rotatably mounted on said socket so as to turn about an axis perpendicular to said shaft and having each two arms disposed perpendicularly to each other, an elastic device acting upon said levers to maintain one arm thereof approximately parallel to the axis of the shaft and the other transverse to said shaft when the governor is at rest, a mass carried by the first of said arms and adapted to be laterally displaced undervthe influence of centrifugal force, a tension disk carried by the extremities of the others of said arms and adapted to be axially raised by said levers upon displacement of the mass, the distance between the centre of gravity of the mass and the centre of rotation of the lever being approximately equal to the length of the arm carrying the said disk in order that the axial displacement of the latter may approximately equal the lateral displacement of the masses, and a fixed part cooperating with said tension disk for regulating the speed to an approximately constant value.

3. In a speed governor for motors of talking and like machines, the combination with a driving shaft, of a socket rigid with said shaft, at least two crooked levers rotatably mounted on said socket so as to turn about an axis perpendicular to said shaft and having each two arms, leaf springs fixed at one end to the levers and bearing with the other end upon the socket so as to maintain one arm of the levers approximately parallel to the axis of the shaft and the other transverse to said shaft when the governor is at rest, a mass carried by the first of said arms and adapted to be laterally displaced under the influence of centrifugal force, the others of said arms having bent-up extremities, a tension disk carried by said extremities and adapted to be axially raised by the levers upon displacement of j the mass, said disk carrying a ring of plastic material and having ears extending at a right angle from its plane and provided with rims adapted to engage said bent-up extremities so as to cause said disk to rotate in unison with said levers and, nevertheless, to move axially thereof when raised by said leversat least two coil springs disposed symmetrically as to the shaft and hooked on the one side to the socket and on the other side to the tension disk thereby tending to constantly dicular to said shaft and having each two arms,

leaf springs fixed at one end to the levers and bearing with the other end upon the socket so as to maintain one arm of the levers approximately parallel to the axis of the shaft and the other transverse to said shaft when the governor is at rest, a mass carried by the iirst of said arms and adapted to be laterally displaced under the influence of centrifugal force, the others of said arms having bent-up extremities, a tension disk carried by said extremities and adapted to be A axially raised by the levers upon displacement of the mass, said disk carrying a ring of plastic material and having ears extending at a right angle from its plane and provided with rims adapted to engage said bent-up extremities so as to cause said disk to rotate in unison with said levers and, nevertheless,to move axially thereof when raised by said levers, at least two coil springs disposed symmetrically `as to the shaft and hooked on the one side to the socket and on the other side to,

the tension disk thereby tending to constantly return said disk to the bent-up extremities of the carrying arms, noses disposed on the said levers above their centre of rotation, and being adapted to abut against the socket for limiting the lateral displacement of the masses, and a xed braking device cooperating with said tension disk for regulating the speed to an approximately constant value.

EDGARD LECOULTRE. 

